on the floor, leaned over him with her lips almost brushing his cheek, and whispered fiercely: “Speak! Canst live?”

Tomlin’s face lost some of its pain. The thin lips straightened into the semblance of a faint smile. His glazing eyes opened slightly.

“I am done for,” he whispered. “Dolores, kiss me again. I die for you.”

The beautiful fury sprang to her feet, spurning him. She glared down at his chalky face in utter scorn.

“Kiss thee? Thou die for me? Pah! I kiss no carrion. A half-hundred men have died for me this day, I hope. I kiss him who lives for me and conquers, not the weakling who dies!”

Without deigning another glance at